Inwa and Sagaing

Inwa (known as Ava until recently) used to be the former capital of the Upper Burma after the fall of Bagan for nearly 400 years (between 1364 and 1841). Inwa was finally abandoned as a capital after the second Anglo-Burmese war when an earthquakes devastated the city in 1841 leaving only scattered ruins of the palaces. It is a popular day-trip excursion from Mandalay that can be combined with visiting Sagaing hill.

Sagaing is an important religious and monastic center of Myanmar with lots of Buddhist monasteries and a monastic hospital. This city was the capital of the short-lived Sagaing Kingdom (1315–1364), one of the minor kingdoms that thrived after the fall of Bagan. During the Ava period (1364–1555), it belonged to the crown prince or senior princes. Sagaing briefly became the royal capital between 1760 and 1763 in the reign of King Naungdawgyi.

Maha Aung Myay Bonzan, Me Nu Ok Kyaung

Bagaya Kyaung was entirely built of teak wood during the reign of King Bagyidaw in 1834. Besides being a monastery, it was also used as a palace, as it can be clearly identified by the existence of the tower, a typical secular feature of royal palaces.

Maha Aung Myay Bonzan, Me Nu Ok Kyaung

Maha Aungmye Bonzan (or Maha Aung Myay Bonzan) is the brick monastery of Queen Nanmadaw Me Nu, built for royal abbots Nyaunggan Sayadaw U Po and U Bok. Thus it is also called as Me Nu Ok Kyaung, literally meaning the brick (ok) monastery (kyaung) of Queen Me Nu. She was the chief queen of King Bagyidaw of Konbaung dynasty of Burma from 1819 to 1837.